''Island Christmas'' is the seventh

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

and first

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

winning,

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

singer

Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of Torres Strait Islander origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been no ...

. The album features The Voice season 2 finalist, Steve Clisby, actor and children’s entertainer,

Jay Laga'aia Jay Laga'aia (born 10 September 1963) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and singer. He is known internationally for his role as Gregar Typho, Captain Typho in the films ''Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and ''Star Wars: Episode ...

and Anu's children Kuiam and Zipporah. The album was released on 7 November 2014. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2015 The 29th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which include the 2015 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine ...

, the album was nominated for Best World Music Album. This was Anu's 17th

ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

nomination. The album lost out to ''

The Gospel Album ''The Gospel Album'' is the third studio album from Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. It is performed in a mixture of both Yolngu and English. The album was announced in May and is described as 'a uniquely Indigenous approach to gospel songs with an ...

'' by

Gurrumul Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (22 January 1971 – 25 July 2017), commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu, was a Yolŋu Aboriginal Australian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he played drums, keyboards ...

Background and release

In July 2014,

Social Family Records Social Family Records is an independent record label in Australia. All Social Family Records releases are distributed in Australia by EMI Music Australia/Universal Music Australia and internationally by The Orchard.Social Family Records is ful ...

announced Christine Anu had signed to their label. It was announced Anu would release a Christmas album in November. Christine Anu has had a long career singing Christmas song as a regular performer on

Carols in the Domain Carols in the Domain is an annual Australian Christmas concert event held in the Domain Gardens in Sydney. It began in 1983, and features many national and international performers and guest appearances. It is a free event, broadcast around Aus ...

, an appearance in Myer’s Spirit of Christmas and recording the theme song for

Blinky Bill Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, ''Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra'', which ...

’s " White Christmas" Upon release, Anu said a Christmas album was never something she considered but she did not take long to be 'coaxed around'. "I first thought people wouldn’t like mine and they might think ‘oh my God not another Christmas album’, but this isn’t your traditional Christmas album — there’s no mention of snow. Instead of snow you have colours." "Silent Night" includes a verse in her native indigenous language and "Island Christmas" is about Christmas Day in the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...

. "I wrote the title track when my kids and their friends and cousins were quite young – we love singing – and I’d always get them to sing along with me. So even though they’re now a lot older, the inclusion of their voices on the album is incredibly nostalgic for me – it’s what Christmas is all about, in creating and recalling special memories each year," said Christine.

Promotion

Anu released a music video for the track "Island Christmas" on 2 December 2014. Anu performed tracks from the album and signed copies in December 2014. * 6 December, Sydney, Westfield Parramatta * 7 December, Lake Macquarie, International Children’s Games Opening Ceremony * 13 December, Parklea Markets

Reviews

The Music AU gave the album 3 out of 5 saying; "Favouring simple arrangements,

takes a relaxed, sincere and distinctly Australian approach on this holiday album. Her voice is a joy to listen to and she performs these songs honestly and soulfully. Though there are a few bland moments, she largely makes these songs her own. "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

" features a verse in her mother’s native Torres Island language and the unaccompanied "

I'll Be Home for Christmas "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longed ...

" is haunting.

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

’s "

River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

" is beautifully recreated, while Paul Kelly’s "

How to Make Gravy ''How to Make Gravy'' is a four-track EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on White Label Records in Australia. The title track was written by Kelly and earned him a 'Song of the Year' ...

" is moving as always. "

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Christine Anu 2014 Christmas albums Christmas albums by Australian artists Social Family Records albums Christine Anu albums Pop Christmas albums